The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-05-20

This emigration from time into eternity
keeps three-fcurths Of the families OF the
earth in desolation. The air is rent with
farewells, and the black-tasseled vehicles
Of death rumble through every street
The body Of the child that was folded
30 closely to the mothers heart Il put
away in the cold and darkness The
laughter freezes to the girls lip and the
rose scatters. The boy in the harvest
field Of Shunam says:
my headi my headi'' and they carry
him home to die in the lap Of his mother.
Widowhood stands with tragedies Of
woe struck into the pallor Of the cheek.
Orphanage cries In vain for father and
mother. Oh, the grave Is cruell With
teeth Of stone it clutches for its prey. Be.
tween the closing gate Of the sepulcher,
our hearts are mangled and crushed. Il
there any earthly solacel None.
We come to the obsequies, we sit With
the grief-stricken, we talk pathetically to
their soul; but soon the obseQuies have
| passed, the carriages have left US at the
door. the friends who stayed for Q few
days are gone, and the heart sits in desc.
lation listening for the little feet that will
never again patter through the hall. or
looking for the entrance Of those who
/
darkness-ever and anon coming across
some book or garment, or little shoe or
picture, that arouses former association,
almost killing the heart.
Long days and nights Of suffering that
| wear out the spirit and expuuge the
bright lines Of life, and give haggardness
to the face, and draw the flesh tight
down the cheekbone, and draw dark lines
| under the sunken eye, and the hand is
tremulous, and the voice il husky and un-
certain, and the grief is wearing, grind
ing, accumulating, exhausting.
Now, what are such to dot Are they
merely to look into brazen and unpity-
ing heavena Are they to walk blasted
heath unfed Of stream, unsheltered by
overarching treei Has God turned US
out on the barren common to diet oh,
mol no! moi He has not He comes with
| sympathy and kindness and love- He
understands all our grief. He sees the
height, and the depth, and the length, and
the breadth Of it. He is the only one that
can fully sympathize. Go and tell
Jesus.
Sometimes, when we have trouble, we
60 to our friends and we explain it, and
| they try to sympa thize; but they do not
understand it. They can not und erstand
| it. But Christ sees all over it and all
through it. He not only counts the tears
and records the groans, but before the
tears started, before the groans began,
Christ saw the Utmost hiding-place of
your sorrow; and he takes it, and he
weighs 1t, and he measures il, and he
pities it with an all abs orbing pity. Bone
| of our bone. Flesh Of our flesh. Heart
Of our heart Sorrow Of our sorrow.
As long as he remembers Lazarus grave
he will stand by you in the cemetery. As
long as he remembers his own heartbreak
he will stand by you in the laceration Of
your affections. When he forgets tho
footsore way, the sleepless nights the
weary body, the exhausted mind, the aw.
full cross, the solemn grave, then he will
forget you, but not until then.
Often when we were in trouble we sent
for our friends; but they were far away,
they could not get to US. We wrote to
them: "Come right away" or tele-
graphed: ''Take the next train"
They came at last, yet were a great
while in coming, or perhaps were too late.
But Christ is always near-befOre you,
behind you, within you. No mother
ever threw her arms around her
child with such warmth and
ecstasy Of affection as Christ has shown
towards you. Close at hand-nearer tina
the staff upon which you lean, nearer
than the cup you put to your lip, nearer
than the handkerchief with which you
wipe away your tears-I preach him as
an ever-present, all-sympathlzing, COM
passionate Jesus. How can you stay
away one moment from him with your
griefsl Go now. Go and tell Jesus.
Suppose your child was in trouble; how
much would you endure to get him outl
you would go through any hardship. You
would say:
81 don't care what it will cost must
get him out of that trouble"
Do you think God is not so good n father
as youa Seeing you are in trouble. and
having all power, will He not stretch out
His arm and deliver youi He will He is
mighty to save. He can level the noun.
tain and divide the sea, and can
extinguish the fire and save the
soul. Not dim Of eye, not weak of arm,
not feeble Of resources, but with all eter.
nifty and the universe at his feet. Go and
tell Jesus. Will youl Ye whose cheeks
are wet with the night-dew Of the grave;
ye who can not look up; We whose hearts
are dried with the breath of q sirocco, in
the name Of the religion Of Jesus Christ,
which lifts every burden, and wipes away
every tear, and delivers every captive,
and lightens every darkness, implore
you now, 90 and tell Jesus
A little child went with her father, q
sea- captain, to sea, and when the first
storm came the little child was very
much frightened, and in the night rushed
out Of the cabin and said:
where is fatheri Where is fatherp'
Then they told her: Father is ON
deck, guiding the vessel and watching the
storm"
The little child Immediately returned to
her berth and said: 'It's all right, for
fathers on deck"
Oh, ye who are tossed and driven in this
world, up by the mountains and down by
the valleys, and at your wits end, want
you to know the Lord God is guiding the
ship Your father is on deck. He will
bring you through the darkness into the
harbor. Trust in the Lord. Go and tell
Jesus. Let me say that, If you do not,
will forever be an outcast and wan
derer. Your death will be q sorrow.
Your eternity will be disaster.
But if you 20 to him for pardon and
sympathy, all is well. Every thing will
brighten up, and joy will come to thy
heart and sorrow will depart; your sins
will be forgiven and your foot will touch
the upward path; and the shining mes
sengers that report above what is done
here will tell it until the great arches of
God resound with the glad tidings, if now.
with contrition and full trustfulness Of
soul, you will only 60 and tell Jesus.
But am oppressed, when look over
this audience, at the prospect that some
may not take this counsel and 60 away I'M
blessed. can not help asking what will
be the destiny Of these peoplel 50 never